Carbonear awaiting nod from ACOA for next phase of downtown work

By Chris Lewis | Mar. 11, 2021

Carbonear council is still waiting to hear if the next phase of its Water Street Revitalization project will be approved for funding from Ottawa.

The downtown makeover was designed to be tackled in segments over a number of years with money to help the town pay for it coming from the provincial and federal governments.

Phase one of the project came to a conclusion in May of 2020 It included the installation of street lights and landscaping.

Phase two will encompass both under and above ground work, but according to Councillor Vic Jenkins, the above ground work is reliant on some Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) funding.

“Their fiscal year starts at the end of March, so we have to wait and see if we get approval for that,” Jenkins said.

Essentially, that means nothing can get started in downtown Carbonear until the Town hears back on that funding.

Jenkins said Harris and Associates Ltd, an engineering company employed by the Town, will have a tender ready to call if the funding is approved.